crabs

[Jimlor123]

hi, does anyone keep crabs in there tropical tanks??
am just wondering.. iv heard the need some area to get out of the water but told its not 100% necessary.. can anyone advise?? please!!

[Cleggat]

I used to, can't get one (none locally). My red claw crab needed up for air.. Depending where you keep them tank sizes etc, my tank which would house a crab has driftwood that reaches out of the water so the crab could get up for air. Although beware a platform out means they could escape, they are mini houdinis.. Hope this helped.

[Jimlor123]

i have either a 400ltr tank or a 130 ltr, they both have external filters, and have hoods with no gaps for escape, unless they can open the lid :/..
i belive they can climb up wires? ie the heater 1? if so they could just get out of water!? any suggestions?

[Aquariumkeeper]

i have been told they could climb the heater by swimming. i would make a slope out of gravel just in case they can't.is ur tank brackish because crabs wont live so long in freshwater

[Jimlor123]

I don't know really:/. I have a few silver sharks, and golden barbs. Can they live in Brakish water? Is so how do I make it brackish? I'm useless at that stuff lol. Also would a crab live with a plec?

[HAVAMAL]

Crabs should be in a brackish tank, you can pickup aquarium salt at your lfs it will tell you how to mix it, I would keep the crabs in a separate tank setup with both land and water, just did one myself.

[Aquariumkeeper]

just go to petco , buy some rocks stack them up and that solves the problem. ive heard of a guy that had the salt levels to 1.001 and the freshwater fish and red claw crab lived.it should be SEA SALT not aquarium salt. oh yah one more thing if u plan on having a red claw crab feed it well or the fish are food. like 2 algae wafers a day or somethin like that

[Cleggat]

My red claw lived with plecos no bother and other small fish... They eat ANYTHING. They can climb up straight fliters yes, but that's with a lot of hard work so I wouldn't not put in wood or rocks etc to help him. They are very fun to watch too. Mine lived in fw until I switched to brak.

[Aquariumkeeper]

cool

[Crepe]

Originally Posted by Aquariumkeeper

just go to petco , buy some rocks stack them up and that solves the problem. ive heard of a guy that had the salt levels to 1.001 and the freshwater fish and red claw crab lived.it should be SEA SALT not aquarium salt. oh yah one more thing if u plan on having a red claw crab feed it well or the fish are food. like 2 algae wafers a day or somethin like that

This really irks me. Aquarium salt to me is the big buckets of salt you use for SW tanks. Epsom salt is for treating constipation and sea salt is for eating.

As for whether or not crabs need salt. That's no 100%. Some crabs like vampire crabs and thai microcrabs come from 100% freshwater they breath and breed only in freshwater. Other crabs like fiddlers should be kept in 100% marine or near marine conditions with more land than water.

Tell us what crab you're getting and then you can find out what care it needs. IMO most crabs need a significant portion of land to be happy.

[plecoking]

I have a fiddler crab in my freshwater tank no salt, he's doing great. I removed all the possible escape routes up the tank and gave him an underwater dry spot. He's not going anywhere.